Field
The present invention relates to a switch unit, and a game machine mounted with the switch unit.
Related Art
There has hitherto been a game machine, what is called a slot machine. In the slot machine, a plurality of reels displaying a plurality of types of symbols are spun. A winning combination is determined based on a matching pattern of symbols and the matched symbols which are displayed in a window when the reels stop. A prize is given to a player in accordance with the winning combination and the number of bets. Input of the number of bets, instruction to start spinning of the reels, and some other operation are performed using an operation board provided in the front of the slot machine.
This type of conventional slot machine is placed in game facilities such as a casino and the like. Machines manufactured by various game machine manufacturers are placed in the game facilities, and a player selects a machine that suits his or her preference and plays the selected one. Thus, each game facility attempts to place slot machines that are popular among the players to achieve a competitive edge over other competing game facilities. Further, for meeting requests from the game facilities, the game machine manufacturers make efforts to develop slot machines that can appeal to the players.
In the slot machine, the operation board is provided in a conspicuous position in appearance in the front of the slot machine, and is directly operated by the player. It has thus been an important portion to develop for an appeal to the player.
The applicant of the present invention has also developed a switch unit that has a sufficient appeal as a switch unit provided on the operation board, and filed the application for this switch unit prior to the present application (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-44833, published in Mar. 13, 2014). This switch unit is configured such that an operation unit including a plurality of pressable operation buttons is disposed on a display device in a stacked manner, and an image displayed on the display device can be viewed through the transparent operation buttons. Hence it is possible to make a display performance of displaying various images on the display device.
Further, in this switch unit, a printed circuit board mounted with an LED is provided below the operation button, while a frame-like light guiding body is provided on the periphery (outer periphery) of the operation button. Hence it is also possible to make a light performance of illuminating the periphery of the operation button.
In the printed circuit board, an opening is provided in a position corresponding to the operation button, and the LED is provided on its periphery. A rubber sheet is provided on the printed circuit board so as to cover the LED. A thickness portion of this rubber sheet is devised so as to allow passage of light advancing upward in the light guiding body while shielding light advancing laterally outward which causes leakage of light to the adjacent operation button. Hence it is possible to illuminate the periphery of each operation button with an intended color, so as to make a light performance with high degree of perfection.
In order to make a display performance with a larger impact, the applicant of the present invention has made a display device large in size and configured such that a plurality of operation buttons are disposed so as to be spaced from each other in a display region of the display device, while avoiding the peripheral edge of the display region, thereby making an image also viewable through between the operation buttons and the periphery of a placement region of the operation buttons.
However, in this case, the rubber sheet made of a single sheet needs to be cut into pieces for the respective operation buttons, thus increasing the number of parts and complicating a process flow. Further, the cut rubber sheet is apt to be displaced at the time of assembly. When the displacement occurs, in the light performance of illuminating the periphery of the operation button, light leaks to the inside or the outside of the operation button to interfere with a display performance made by the display device or interfere with a light performance of the other operation button, thus leading to a decrease in degree of perfection of the performance.